A New, Easy Way to Find Images for Your Lenses, Blogs, or for Pinterest

If you ever get stuck looking for images for your Squidoo lenses, for your blogs, or for Pinterest posts, then keep reading.

I've found a great resource that I want to share with you.  It's called Image Monthly and it's a very inexpensive way for bloggers and marketers to not only learn about and keep in touch with the best web image advice, tools, and resources, the monthly subscription includes all that plus royalty free stock photos, quotes, and backgrounds you can use as you promote your online real estate.

This is a new program, just opening, and if you grab it now you'll save 50 percent.  It's only $5 monthly and you can cancel anytime, so my advice is to sign up right now, try it out, and see if you find it helpful.  As for me, I'm pretty sure it's going to be exactly what I need.

Rather than trying to explain what the program includes, I'm just going to send you to the information page where you can read all the details. Just click the graphic:

This is an affiliate link, but my commission doesn't increase the amount you pay.  This is just produced by a very smart, very generous marketer who always - always - impresses me with everything she does.

Have you signed up for Image Monthly?  I'd love for you to use it then let me know how this resource works out for you.

P.S. Here's a direct link to Image Monthly in case you have trouble clicking through the image above.

 

Another Month Bites The Dust

Can't believe that tomorrow is October already. I'm really not sure what happened to September except that it flew by faster than a colorful autumn leaf in a windstorm.

I hope your Halloween lenses are doing well. Have you noticed any difference in visits since the advent of the new Squidoo Happy Halloween magazine? If you have, I'd love to know.

The stores, of course, are full of Halloween things, but I expect to see some red and green crowding out the orange well before the month is over.  Have you started gearing up your lens list with new or updated goodies for Christmas/gift shoppers? Planning anything special to market to holiday shoppers this year?

I'd love if we could collect some marketing ideas here in the comments section. If you have a brilliant or even a basic idea for marketing holiday lenses on Squidoo, would you share it with us in a comment below? I'd appreciate it and I believe others would, too.  I'll be sharing a few of my own ideas in the coming days and weeks.

Thanks, and an early "Ho, ho, ho!" to you, too!

How to Sell Expensive Items on Squidoo

Someone asked me yesterday how to write a lens about an item that is higher priced but still affordable so they could increase their income from Squidoo.  Thought I'd share my answer here.

The simple answer is that you write about expensive items the exact same way you write about lower priced items. You provide the UUU (useful, updated, unique) content but choose a higher priced item that people actually buy.  To find one, go to Amazon.com and look at the bestsellers in the categories that you like writing about. Find a higher priced item that appeals to you, research it, and make a lens about it.

A fact I try to remember is this: Just because I can't afford it doesn't mean nobody can afford it. If it's a bestseller on Amazon, that means people are buying it - so somebody can afford it! I couldn't afford a Kindle when they first came out, but it appealed to me so I researched it, wrote about it, provided what at that time was very unique information about it, and I sold enough of them through my lenses that I could afford to buy one for myself!  No reason you can't choose any other popular item and do the same thing.

Keep your lens very oriented to that one particular item, make the information worthwhile (useful), put your own spin on it (unique) and people will find your lens. The method isn't foolproof, but you have nothing to lose by choosing an expensive item to promote. If it doesn't work, try it again.  If it does work, by all means try it again and watch your income grow! 

Do you sell expensive items on Squidoo?  I'd love to hear about your experience in a comment below. 

Learn Internet Marketing in Person

So you have an online business. Now what? If you found out the hard way that the "build it and they will come" philosophy doesn't necessarily work online - even on Squidoo - then you might want to invest some time learning internet marketing principles that you can apply to your business. Internet marketing training is probably exactly what you need, and I know someone who can help - in person.

My friend Phaedra Stockstill has scheduled an internet marketing training seminar November 22, 2010, live and in person in Patterson, Louisiana. Phaedra has worked online for over 10 years in e-commerce. From merchant to consultant to social media representative, Phaedra knows what she's doing and she's ready to share her knowledge and experience with you, knowledge to empower you with tools and information to help your business grow.

Learn how to market your business online using current relationship marketing techniques, social media, branding, building trust with your customers and much more.  Though the class isn't designed for Squidoo lensmasters specifically, the marketing principles are still ones you can apply to promote your Squidoo business.   

You'll enjoy Phaedra's dynamic personality, and the small class size will allow for plenty of personal attention.  Sign up today for one of the just ten seats in this seminar for relevant information that you can apply to your business immediately, and watch your business grow in 2011.

Focus and Promote: My 2010 Goals for Squidoo

It seems everyone is writing about goals, which seems to be a less dangerous subject than resolutions, so I figured I'd throw in my52cents' worth.

I'm really looking forward to the potential that lies within Squidoo in the coming year. I'm determined to put quality over quantity when it comes to lensmaking, focusing on profit, a necessity for me this year more than ever. I have a little sign on my computer that says "Focus and Promote," something I got from Paul Duxbury. When I narrow down my goals to something simple, that phrase, which also summarizes my two weak points, is the result.

In 2010, I plan to focus my lenses in profitable subject areas. That means that I will likely divest myself of some of my older lenses, mostly those in which I've lost interest. It'll be tough getting rid of my little offspring, but I believe the time has come to find them new homes with lensmasters who can nurture them better than I. If you're interested, watch for lenses for sale in the coming weeks and months.

In 2010, I must learn to promote. Of course I know the basics, but I must draw up a plan and discipline myself to stick with it. As well as some of my lenses produced during the Christmas sales season with virtually no promotion on my part, it pains me to think of the sales I missed because I hadn't spent time promoting them in the preceding months. There's no reason I can't have a Christmas month (or close to it) every month, and that is the goal. Blog posts, articles, and forum participation must become priorities this year if I'm serious about improving my bottom line.

In all of the focusing and promoting, a huge and very important part will be contributing to the Squidoo community. I hope you will stick with me here on the blog and that I'll be able to provide you with information and tips that will help you reach your 2010 goals as well.

Happy New Year to all, and to all a focused and profitable year with Squidoo and all the possibilities that spring from it!

Expose Yourself On Amazon.com

If you're an e-business owner then you're probably looking for traffic. Have you considered exposing yourself and your business on Amazon.com?

If you're an Amazon seller or shopper you've probably noticed customer reviews on many of the items for sale there. Have you written any reviews? If you've purchased an item from Amazon you've probably received an email from the company asking you to leave a review and rate the product. Actually, you don't have to have even purchased an item from Amazon to leave a review. Many people who buy items elsewhere and either love or hate them add their product reviews on the Amazon website. Have you?

If you haven't, you're missing out on some great exposure. But before you head to your favorite products, look for the "Your Account" link at the top right of any Amazon.com page. From there, scroll down to "Personalization" where you'll find a "Your Public Profile" link. On that page you can add your nickname, upload a picture, talk a little bit about yourself, and even leave a link to your website. It's that last part you should get excited about. Include the link you want people to see first, your home page link, blog link, or even your Squidoo profile page link.

Once you've completed and saved your profile, start writing product reviews, maybe a couple a day. Be honest by reviewing based on first-hand knowledge of books or appliances or shoes or computers or golf clubs or gadgets you've actually used and, preferably, own. Be specific in your reviews in order to make them useful for shoppers evaluating items for purchase; those same people will rate your review as useful or not and the most useful reviews rise to the top and are more likely to be read.

There's no guarantee that someone will click through on your name in the review to look at your profile, but as a shopper I know that I've done so and I would expect someone, sometime, to click through on my name as well.

By contributing to the Amazon shopping community with product reviews, you may end up exposing yourself and your business to your next biggest customer.

Good idea? I think so. What do you think?

P.S. Use good keywords in your reviews. You do know that product reviews show up in search engines, right?

How to Use SquidZippers to Promote Your Business

Today's new post on the SquidU Review features lensmaster Kim Giancaterino and the brilliant way she uses Squidoo's front-door template, SquidZippers to promote her local, real-life business.

Kim's a notary public who has made numerous SquidZipper lenses to help clients find her and to help find new clients.

If you have an in-person business that needs promoting, don't miss this interview. I believe you'll be inspired to give SquidZippers a try.

How Important Is Keyword Research on Squidoo?

That's the question asked this week by lensmaster GrowWear on her blog, Squidoo Lens Reviews.

Let me share my answer with you:

Keyword research isn't important at all - unless you want people to find your lens! Posting on SquidU, sharing a lens with your squid-buddies, even Tweeting a lens only goes so far. The goal is to get traffic from the web, from public, from people you never knew you needed to meet. These are the ones who don't necessarily leave star ratings but who (hopefully, if you have a good lens) click out on your links and even make a purchase now and then. Can't earn money for yourself or for charity without those clickouts, and you won't get clickouts if you don't get traffic which found you because of, that's right, great keywords.

Who Are You Making Lenses For?

When you create a lens on Squidoo, what audience are you writing for? Do you stop to consider who you want to find and read the lens? Do you plan your opening module to capture the attention of your next customer or does what you write confuse readers and send them to the back button before they ever get to the "meat" of the lens?

For instance, what if the opening sentence of a lens reads something like this: "I'm making this lens for a RocketMoms assignment." Or this: "There's a week left before the deadline for Giant Squid and this is my 50th lens!" Or even: "I've been on Squidoo for six months now so I decided to make a lensography."

If the sole purpose of the lens is to reach a particular audience within Squidoo, then those opening sentences might be just fine. However, if the eventual purpose of the lens is to provide information for a large audience of people from around the country and around the world and, especially, to convert those people to customers, then you might want to rethink your opening line.

Give each of your lenses an objective looking over. Make sure to address the main topic of the lens immediately so that you give your visitors a reason to read on. Don't chase them away with extraneous information or "insider talk" that adds nothing to the subject of the lens. Give them a reason to stick around, to find what they're looking for, to click through and purchase the item you were hoping they would buy. Make them feel like you wrote this lens just for them, your newest best customer and biggest fan.

If you want your lenses to succeed, to get traffic, to make sales, then write for your customers, not just for your friends on Squidoo.

How to Get Squidoo Traffic From Big-Name Websites

Tip: Set up google news alerts for subjects that you write about on your lenses. News outlets online often have blogs that allow readers to leave comments. Some even allow you to leave a link via a URL field which is linked through your name when the comment is published.

When you receive a news alert, check the source and see if there is a place to leave a comment. If the subject is relevant to yours and you have an appropriate comment to leave, do so. Make your comment interesting and on topic. Don't spam or your comment likely will be removed. Don't put the link in your comment, only in the URL field. Use your lensmaster ID in the name field.

This works for blog alerts as well, but news outlets usually receive more traffic and, thus, your chances of someone finding your comment and clicking through on your link are better on those bigger sites.

As an example, check out my comment on the Newsday.com American Idol blog. I'm anxious to check my stats to see if it brings my lens any traffic. If the right person clicks through, it could be someone who ends up leaving me with a nice commission on that lens. Woo-hoo!

Squizazzle!

I'm having so much fun on Zazzle. I hope you'll check out all my designs, including Squidoo promotion designs, at The Green-Eyed Cat.

I Squidoo, Do You? by susan52z

Squidmusings with Moomette's Gram

I was happy and honored when Cindi of Moomettesgram's Musings asked me to write a guest post about Squidoo.

Cindi is a prolific presence online, blogging on topics of interest to work-at-home moms of all ages, including those of us who also fall into the category of baby boomer. Easy to see why Cindi and I get along so well.

My guest post addresses the WAHM community, explaining to that ever-growing group why Squidoo is a great business choice for them. I hope you'll take a minute, visit Moomettesgram's Musings and check it out!

Network Your Squidoo Lenses

Quick tip: Network your lenses.

Make several lenses (at least three) on the same or related topics. Don't duplicate; make each one unique but related to the main subject. Each lens must be a quality, stand-alone lens.

Lensroll the lenses to each other. Link them using the "Explore related pages" section of the intro module. Use text links and/or the featured lenses module to tie the lenses together. Use similar keywords on all the lenses.

You may have read this tip before, but have you tried it? If you haven't, don't put it off any longer. It really works.

Boom & Bust on Squidoo

Boom! Something very cool happened last week. Seth Godin blogged about Amazon's Kindle and linked to MY Squidoo lens in his post! Hits on that lens have gone through the roof and lensrank has followed. Can't thank Seth enough!

Bust! Since Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign, hits on my Who is Hillary Clinton? lens have dropped into the basement and lensrank has fallen after 99 days in the top 100 on Squidoo. Well, maybe Barack will choose her as his running mate (though I doubt it) and traffic will pick back up again. It was fun while it lasted! Looks like Hillary memorabilia may be the way to go.

Nice there was a boom to offset the bust!

The Importance of the Primary Tag

The Primary Tag is the first tag you get to define when creating your new lens, and it is an often misunderstood and very under utilised by many Lensmasters. Admittedly, it doesn't seem do a whole lot, but there are some important points to note:

- In some lens formats (e.g. Ever.com and SquidWho) the primary tag appears at the very top of the page, next to "Explore more:".

- Most lenses (maxxed) have a box in the side bar titles "Explore more...", containing links to the Category and Primary Tag of the lens, plus all the groups it belongs too.

- Another feature of the sidebar (which is not always present) is the tag list, which is usually headed by the Primary Tag (on un-maxxed lenses), and then the first 5 regular tags (in alphabetical order). The remaining tags are hidden, and search engines may ignore these ones.

- Every appearance of the Primary Tag on your lens adds weight to that key phrase on your lens.

In addition, I am working on a new project that will make these Primary Tags even more important! So, you need to make sure that your these tags are as optimal as possible.

Here are some tips:

1. Your Primary Tag wants to be the most important key phrase that you can think of. For example, if your lens is about a person or a product, stick to just their name.

2. Keep your tag to just 2 or 3 words, where possible. One word is not always specific enough (unless the subject is a strong brand like Pepsi), and more than 3 words can sometimes be too specific. Of course, it does depend on your subject matter.

3. Don't simply repeat your Lens title again (even though this is the default when building a lens). Your title should include as many keywords as you can sensibly fit (no keyword stuffing!), while your Primary Tag is about your key phrase.

4. Format your Primary Tag nicely - keep it Capitalised, spelt correctly (!) and don't include any special characters or quotes ("). Use spaces between words, not dashes or underscores.

5. Make sure you repeat your Primary Tag as a regular tag too. The tags appear as the Meta Keywords at the top of the page, and you don't want your key phrase to be missing from it.

6. Pick a Primary Tag which is popular, i.e. people will be likely to be searching for it and other lenses are might also have the same Primary Tag.

Here are some examples: Doctor Who :: Discworld :: Digital Camera Accessories :: Smart Phones

Bad examples: The Whole Lens Title Again :: Kee Frase Spelt Wong :: lowercasewithnospaces :: "Phrase in Quotes"

I hope that people remember these tips - I need to go and change a lot of my own Primary Tags having just looked at a few of them. And remember - I'm developing a project that'll bring these tags in to their own...

(This post was written by thefluffanutta, lensmaker extraordinaire and all-around great guy, and was originally published on SquidU.com, Squidoo's forum and lensmaster lounge. It's great advice, typical of thefluffanutta who is more than generous in sharing great advice as well as his creation, SQUIDUtils.com, Advanced Tools and Utilities for Expert Lensmasters, with the masses. Thank you, thefluffanutta, for permission to republish.)

SquidVids!

What do you get when you cross Squidoo with YouTube? You get SquidVids!

It's so easy to get hooked on YouTube; there's so much to watch with video clips of nearly every topic imaginable. Likely there are video clips of something you're especially fond of, from your favorite team to your favorite hobby. Put the two together and you get an easy subject for a SquidVids lens. Better yet, choose your favorite Squidoo lens topic, find related video and you have yet one more way of seducing the search engines.

Once you've made your SquidVids lens, make sure you lensroll it to your related lens, and vice versa like I did with my eBay lens and my eBay Video Showcase. Let the Squidoo-Google dance begin!

Keep Your Squidoo Visitors Coming Back

Have an interesting lens full of great information? Are you getting visitors? How about return visitors?

To keep your visitors coming back, consider a nifty little tool called Add This. With just a couple of clicks, you can create bookmark and RSS feed widgets for your lenses then add the code to a "write" module on your lens, giving your visitors an easy opportunity to bookmark your lens.

Add This supports most bookmarking and feed reader services, including social bookmarking sites like Del.iciou.us, Facebook, and Stumbleupon which, in turn, will bring your lens even more traffic. Of course you can use the same widget on your blog. I did (left margin, near the top).

Check out how I used the Add This widget to my find-stuff-for-ebay lens.

When Small is Big and Less is More

Ever hear of getting too much for your money? I just saw an offer for a product that promises to help me find my perfect niche market. The product was inexpensive, less than 20 bucks, but it contained 14 videos and two e-books. That's too much stuff for me, just way too big. Maybe the answer is complicated enough to require all that media, but I really don't have time to go through 14 videos and read two e-books. Sorry, I'll pass.

Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. He's also the author of a book called Small Is the New Big. Squidoo is big and getting bigger, yet a Squidoo lens is small, just one page. A good, small lens, though, is better than big because it focuses on exactly what its readers want to know (that's why they call it a lens). That less is more concept is what I like best about Squidoo.

When I write, I tend to get pretty wordy; when Ron Passfield writes, he gets to the point. I've learned more about Squidoo from Ron Passfield than from any other one person. Ron’s e-book, Squidoo Marketing Strategies, is a small 44 pages (and it has a small price of just seven dollars), but Ron thinks big and demonstrates in his book how to use Squidoo to promote and market your business or area of expertise.

If you want to learn to use Squidoo to turn your big idea into something small and profitable, start with Ron’s book and learn how to put less is more to work for you.